Hitting League_itbb

January 7^th-February 11th

12:00pm-4:00pm

Ages 9-12

Each player will be hitting off a pitching machine and getting 40 swings each week. Scores will be judged by how hard and where they hit the ball. This is a great way to get extra swings and training before you get outside. Each team will be given a 1 hour time slot to hit against the opponent.

Sign up as team or individually!

Team Price: $425.00             Individual Price: $125.00

Phone: (978)763-3066         E-Mail: info@ne-baseball.com

The Softball Pitching Clinic is an offseason program designed for players 9-14 looking to improve their game. This clinic is geared for those ages 9 through 14.  Proper mechanics, release points, grips, attitude, etc will be covered.

Two Classes to choose from : Monday at 6PM or Monday at 7PM

Click Here for Flyer: 5 week Softball pitchers clinics Fall 2011

Member Rate: $99 / Non Member Rate $119

Each Player will be leading a 5 week clinic Starting November 9th and 10th. Robbie will focus on hitting and Ty will work on pitching. Only 4 Students per group and each student will also receive a 30 minute private lesson with their coach

Download Program Info here:

Hitting: ATT00084

Pitching: ATT00087

Baseball Membership:

• One free weekly Sports Conditioning session.
• Discounts on private lessons.
• One free Private Evaluation with a coach.
• Discounts on clinics, summer camps, Fall Ball, hit leagues, etc.
• Free (daily) 30-minute tunnel rental.*
• Free use of Boost Baseball’s Soft Toss area.*

*With advanced reservation; based on availability.

Rates:

Annual Membership – $39/month

6-month Membership – $59/month

3-month Membership – $79/month

When it comes to coaching girls, what makes you different and what unique approach do you bring to the table?

Being a player and a coach at this sport at all levels I believe gives me an advantage over those that haven’t been through it. I understand the emotional aspect as well as the physical aspect of the game that cannot be taught, unless you have been on the dirt yourself. As a coach I want my players to see me as a positive figure, someone who is on their side and that I’ve been in their shoes and understand what they are going through.  I believe that it’s important for them to have positive reinforcement and to remind them that they are supposed to be having fun. It is hard work but watching players succeed is a greater reward than anything that a coach could give them.

Courtney, could you comment on your philosophy for long-term success as an athlete.

As a coach I want to teach them the importance of taking care of themselves on and off the field especially when it comes to taking care and preventing injury. I have played softball, soccer and ice hockey since I was 8 years old and I understand the wear and tear that your body under goes on a regular basis. Small injuries and bumps and bruises are bound to happen, that’s all part of the game.  Preventing the big injuries and ways to maintain long term health are what I always try to instill in my players.

 Can you give an example of what you mean?

 Well, for example in pitching, I believe that by teaching proper techniques, and explaining why your body should be positioned during all points of the pitch, allows players and parents to understand how things such as landing a few inches off, leading with your elbow and muscling through pitches can really have a detrimental effect on your body.

 It takes a combination of hard work, sacrifice, determination, mental and physical toughness in order to be at the highest level of your sport.. It is not an easy position, and a lot of the frustration comes from the fact that as a pitcher you are working towards perfection, and no one is perfect. It’s a high pressure position and at advanced levels, things like missing your target by an inch mean the difference between a championship or not.  

 Talking about long-term pitching success, what is the one thing that will make the greatest difference in a player’s success?

 I get asked a lot on how to make pitchers more accurate and how to gain more speed. In order to be accurate and to continuously gain speed is to start off at the basics. Do you have the right mechanics? Without this there is no way that the individual will reach their maximum potential no matter how strong they are for their age. Once they have the basic mechanics down, and can consistently repeat the same motion hitting the target, then we add speed.

 I’m sorry, Courtney. I’m laughing because I think you hit a sensitive spot. You’re talking about getting the proper mechanics first, and then add speed. What do you explain to your players, their parents and their coaches about the importance of delaying speed until they get the proper form first? They want results now, especially if they are in season.

 The problem with improper mechanics is that each time a player repeats that motion they are training their nervous system and muscular system to move improperly; as that wrong motion becomes more and more ingrained, they reach a point of altered “natural” perception. In other words, their body “feels” this wrong motion is right. This is especially true with girls who have had some pitching success (with the incorrect form. Often times it’s because they are physically stronger or more athletic than their peers at the time). The more often they repeat a throw with incorrect form the more difficult it is for them to make future corrections. Although girls can make great progress after a few lessons, research in movement science suggests (and my experience supports) that it takes at least 3 to 8 weeks of working consistently with proper mechanics before something “feels” natural. I understand the pressure to win, especially in season. But what we need to keep in mind is what is the best interest of a player as she continues to improve and reach her full potential – we need to get those basics right.

 Ok. Let’s get back to speed.

 Speeding up the arm motion, pushing off and driving through with legs and hips, all with proper release and hard wrist snap together at the right moment, is when you will start seeing an increase in speed.  Now when you put all these things together: consistent correct mechanics and body position, along with correct timing, explosiveness and consistent speed – this is what will give you the accuracy of your pitches. This does not happen overnight, you have to stay determined and patient.

 Once you have mastered this with the fast ball, we start having fun learning all the other pitches.

 The pitches that I teach are: Fast, Change, Curve, Screw, Rise, Drop, Curve Rise, Drop curve, Off-speed, Drop change. All these pitches can be taught to hit anywhere in the strike zone, and can be thrown in any combination.

 That sounds good. Can you speak about the mental aspect of the game?

 Yes. I’m glad you asked. Equally important as physical preparation is the mental game. You have to always be in charge and never let anything bother you. There is no time to dwell on mistakes, u have to block out other fans, teams and coaches, because 10 seconds later you have to throw another pitch. I tell my players, “Don’t worry. The more you get the other team to talk, the more you’re getting to them” J.

 Something that I start to teach my more advanced players is to start learning batters and working the count. By remembering their at bats, watching their swings, stance, and placement in the box, gives them clear hints on which pitches will fool and be difficult for the batter to make solid contact with and which ones they should stay away from.

 What I’ve learned is that pitchers and catchers are unique. They tend to have a different work ethic, personality and attitude compared to their teammates (more noticeable the younger they are). I like to teach players of all ages and all levels, as long as they are willing to learn.

 Above all, when I work with players, I want all my students to enjoy playing, and to leave our lessons feeling confident in their abilities.

 Courtney has joined the Softball Staff at Boost Baseball and is a welcome addition.  Courtney is currently available for private lessons and group lessons and clinics.  Email Sam at siturrino@boostbaseball.com for further information.

As Major League Baseball enters what should be its most exciting
month, most people in New England have been left to try and swallow
the reality of another failed Red Sox season and missed opportunity.
But as the story of the 2011 Red Sox comes to a close, roughly 50
individuals are starting a baseball journey of their own just outside
Phoenix, Arizona. These individuals are entering into MLB’s scout
school, an intensive 2-week program which will prepare them to scout
out the talent that will one day fulfill the October playoff dreams of
tomorrow (let’s hope the Red Sox are well-represented there this
year!).

A year ago, I found myself in those same shoes, setting out to start a
whole new chapter in my baseball life; preparing to attend hours of
classes and lectures, heading to and from ballparks across the area to
learn how to best identify, analyze, and classify talent. I learned
there was a whole lot more to baseball to learn and I saw what it felt
like to elevate my own game to a whole new level.

Now, looking back a year later, most of the baseball I’m witnessing and
players that I am evaluating are playing on a slightly different
level. Although college baseball and beyond is likely in the cards
for many of these youth players, for now it’s summer leagues,
all-stars, fall ball, and AAU. In many ways, it’s a more exciting
time….the possibilities are endless and the game is right there for
them to take it and run with it.

One strong memory that has stuck in my mind from my experience at
scout school was watching film of some MLB all-stars back from when
they were amateurs in high school and even younger. In each case, it
was shocking how easy it was to identify the players based on their
mannerisms and tools on the field. Derek Jeter had the same confident
stance waiting for balls in the field, Manny Ramirez still had the
quick hands, long follow through on his swing and, yes, emphatic bat
flips as he trotted around the bases. Yes, these players had become
much stronger and inevitably smarter baseball players (even Manny) but
deep down the high school kids we were watching were the same players
that would be shattering records in the major leagues.

What this brings me to is the importance of developing strong
fundamentals as a young player. The MLB all-stars which I had watched
and broken down mechanically did not show up to high school showcases
as monstrous human beings and then develop their mechanics later on.
Instead, they brought sound fundamentals (a mix of physical ability
and pure dedication to working on their game) and thus were people
that you knew would only continue to build upon this strong base.
Although some may use natural talent as a way to get around hard work,
for most of us it is the opposite. And it is this hard work on proper
fundamentals that shapes the player we will be for the rest of our
lives.

This can be a lesson all of you parents and youth players out there
that are seeing baseball become a major part of your own lives. Work
on the things you can control: practicing proper mechanics to develop
muscle memory, working on hand eye coordination drills to give you
quick, soft hands, or taking the time to make sure you consistently
get enough quality repetitions to make a workout worthwhile. This
will be the foundation that you can then build off of. Don’t stress
over physical shortcomings but work to improve those areas and
identify what you can use to your advantage. There won’t be many
college or pro scouts watching you when you’re out in your backyard
working on perfecting your release point or doing drills to improve
your balance. But when that time does come when the lights of the
stadium are on and suddenly you do have an audience, those days and
nights spent working on your game will pay off. You’ll see one scout
turn to another and exchange a glance that simply says, “This is a kid
we can work with. He’s going to be a player.”

Whether the goal is to play third base for the Red Sox or just to make
the junior varsity team, the answer will always be in the hard work on
fundamentals. The best players work the hardest when nobody’s
watching.

Jon Sargent is a Pitching Coach at Boost Baseball and is available for private or group instruction.  Please email Sam at siturrino@boostbaseball.com for additional information.

With that being said, there are also correct mechanical aspects that apply across all of these various styles of pitching that every successful pitcher incorporates into their motion.   To continue reading , click here: Proper Pitching Mechanics 101.

1.      Limit the number of throws – use buckets so you can field and put ball in bucket.

2.      Have players throw every 3^rd or 4^th ball, roll the others to the side.

3.      Teach players that in order to throw further they must make their hand move faster as they are letting go of the ball; also the longer the distance the bigger the circle and follow through should be.

4.  Don’t distance throw every day, and work up to it.

Good luck!

Lisa Strom is available for private lessons and clinics.  Call 978-763-3066 for further details.